Rowing Places Fourth in SIRA Grand Final

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—The Barry Buccaneers placed fourth in the grand final of the varsity 8+ race at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta on the Chattahoochee River in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on Sunday.

The race was very tight through the first 1,000 meters, with Philadelphia University out front and Ohio, Nova Southeastern and Barry all within three seats of each other.

Over the last 500 meters, the Bucs and Sharks were racing for the bronze medal, with NSU coming out on top.

Ohio (7:09.30) took the gold and Philadelphia (7:10.40) won the silver. Nova Southeastern (7:18.30) took the bronze, followed by Barry (7:21.10), Washington University of St. Louis (7:26.80) and Marietta (7:29.30).

In the first heat, the Bucs [Athena Corodimas (cox), Janelle Cross (stroke), Robin Cascioli, Elise Carlson, Rebekah Evans, Stephanie Ricker, Stephanie Logsdon, Rhiannon Doka, Summerlin Knipe] placed second behind Michigan State. The Spartans won the heat with a time of 7:29, with the Bucs two seconds back at 7:31. Marietta placed third at 7:35 and all three crews advanced to the “B” semifinal. Northwestern State out of Louisiana (7:36) and Florida Tech (7:52) rounded out the field.

In the “B” semifinal, the Bucs improved their time by 0:44 seconds, finishing second again to reach the grand final on Sunday. Nova Southeastern (6:43.22) won the race, with Barry second (6:47.74) and Washington University of St. Louis third (6:48.02).

“We rowed a very good race in the morning, but we had a few minor problems,” head coach Dave Sanderson said. “But in the afternoon, we addressed our problems from the morning and really rowed a great race. Now we’re just looking forward to rowing in the final tomorrow and trying to come home with a medal.”